Ascending cholangitis: rare presentation of a ruptured right-sided renal angiomyolipoma

We report the case of a 46-year-old female who presented to the Emergency Department with acute, painful obstructive jaundice, with evidence of secondary ascending cholangitis. Surprisingly, imaging revealed the clinical picture to be caused not by hepatobiliary pathology, but by external compression of the biliary tree from a ruptured renal angiomyolipoma (AML) of the right kidney. The patient remained haemodynamically stable and conservative management saw resolution of biliary obstruction. We believe this to be the first report of a renal AML presenting in this way. This report highlights the diverse spectrum of presentations of renal angiomyolipomas.